Various types of sports shoes are intended for wear and use on natural ground, turf and similar surfaces. Such sport shoes often have cleats, spikes or other features on the bottom surface of the soles to increase traction. These traction features can be subject to the accumulation of mud, soil, turf and the like in the course of being worm. Golfing shoes are an example of such sport shoes, and have cleats on the bottom sole which are subject to the buildup of dirt and other muck between the cleats. To remove such buildup, a golfer must carry a cleat cleaning device with them, such as a brush or a scrapper. Therefore, it is desirable in the field to have available an alternative a cleat cleaning device to spare the golfer from having to carry one around that is soiled from use. The field has been motivated to provide alternatives to having to personally carry a cleat cleaning tool.
An example of an alternative cleat cleaning tool is disclosed in Woodward, U.S. Pat. No. 6,363,567. Woodward discloses a vehicle mounted golf shoe brush that is extendable from and retractable under the rear bumper of a vehicle. The mount element of the Woodward device is relatively complex having multiple component parts, some of which are required to move in relationship to each other. Other examples of shoe cleaning brush devices attachable to a golf cart are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,032,316 and 5,437,075 to Peake. The Peake devices both include hinge mechanisms for changing the positioning of the brush elements of the device, and are made of multiple separate components. A further example is the golf shoe cleaning device of U.S. Pat. No. D318,826 to Parchment, which discloses a brush and hinge assembly allowing the brush feature to be enclosed in a housing when not in use. There are other types of golf shoe cleaning devices known in the literature. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,142,853 and D356,892 to Hensley and to Ricci, respectively. These devices are mountable to round stock such as may be found on a pole.
Although each of the above shoe cleaning devices mountable on a vehicle may be useful for their intended purposes, it is clear that the field finds useful such devices mountable on a vehicle such as a golf cart. Also, because these devices may be exposed to weather as well as the accumulation of soil and other debris or muck, any moving parts may become fouled and/or corroded. It would be beneficial in the field to have an alternative shoe cleaning device that is attachable to a golf cart, yet does not have moving parts that may be subject to binding up due to fouling or corrosion. In addition to simplicity, it would be beneficial to have such a shoe cleaning device providing for its easy mounting and removal from the vehicle, and for which the work face (brush, scraper or the like) could be separately and easily replaced.